CHAPTER 138: AN ORDER

SOPHIA'S POV The dim alley was eerily silent, save for the echo of my heels clicking against the damp pavement. I swallowed hard, the chill in the air crawling up my skin. I was walking into the lion's den again, and the weight of my decision sat heavily on my chest. Still, there was no turning back now. This was a necessary evil, I reminded myself. But that didn’t mean it wasn’t terrifying. The woman in the shadows awaited me. Her figure was barely visible, cloaked in the dim light cast by a single streetlamp. Her voice, when it came, was as cold and calculated as always. “Sophia,” she greeted, her voice slipping through the air like a knife. “I’ve been expecting you.” I nodded, standing my ground even though my legs felt weak beneath me. “You called. I came.” “Yes.” She stepped out of the darkness, her features still mostly concealed beneath a dark hood. The sharpness of her presence felt like it could cut through steel. “It seems that Harden and Dave have been... snooping aroun